Windows 7: Articles

What constitutes a “window”? Whenever you open a program, file, or folder, it appears on your screen in a box or frame known as a “window”.

This is how the Windows operating system got its name. As you work with Windows 7, you will come across many different types of windows. Some are program windows and others are little instructional boxes called dialog boxes.

Here are a few examples.

Controlling windows
In Windows 7, the common tasks you learnt to control windows in previous Windows are still valid.

• Minimizing a window
• Restoring a window
• Maximizing a window
• Closing a window (permanently)
• Re-sizing windows
• Moving or re-locating windows

The Control Buttons
The Control buttons allow you to manage the window.

Note: In Windows 7 the Control Buttons now glow when you move the mouse pointer onto them.

In dialog boxes there is only one Control button – Close.

Some, but not all application windows have a Control Menu. Click the corner icon or press Alt+Spacebar to open the menu.

Re-sizing a window
There are two ways you can re-size a window:

• Control Menu
• Dragging the borders

Using the Control Menu

1. Click the program icon (left corner) in the Title Bar or press Alt + Spacebar.
2. When the Control Menu opens, select Size.
3. A four-way arrow appears in the window.
4. Move the mouse to an outer border or corner.
5. The four-way arrow changes to a double-headed arrow.
6. Re-size the window by dragging it outwards to enlarge it or inwards to make it smaller.
7. When you get the size you want, release the mouse button.

Dragging the Borders
This is the quickest method.

1. Move the mouse pointer onto the window's borders or corners.

2. The mouse pointer changes to a double-headed arrow.
3. Drag inwards (makes window smaller) or outwards (makes window larger).

Moving the window
You can re-locate a window by dragging to a new position on the Desktop. Move the mouse pointer onto the window’s Title bar and drag the window to a new location.

Snap
One of Windows 7’s new features is called Snap. This allows you to quickly re-locate windows. Snap allows you to:

• re-position windows side by side
• expand windows vertically
• maximize a window

In the example below there are two windows overlapping each other and obscuring the contents. While you can arrange them manually, Windows 7’s Snap does it quicker for you.

1. Drag Window 1 by its title bar to the left or right side of the screen.
2. Release the mouse and the window fills the side you’ve chosen.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with Window 2 to arrange the windows side by side.

+Note: If you drag a window to the top of the screen it automatically fills the screen.